The Nationals announced Wednesday that theyve signed infielder to a one-year contract. Right-hander was designated for a signment to make space on the roster. Rosario will earn Anfernee Hardaway Jersey $2MM on the deal, Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Hes represented by Octagon. Rosario, 29, was a solid regular in Cleveland from 2021-22, serving as the Guardians everyday shortstop and posting a combined .282/.316/.406 batting line (106 wRC+) with terrific baserunning but subpar defense at his position. In 2023, however, Rosario fell into a prolonged slump and was eventually designated for a signment and traded to the Dodgers, for whom he filled a utility role down the stretch. He signed on with the Rays on a $1.5MM deal to hold down a similar multi-position role in 2024 before again being traded to the Dodgers at the deadline. His second stint in L.A. lasted only days, however, as he was designated for a signment and landed with the Reds thereafter. Over the past two seasons, Rosario has still managed to hit .270 thanks to his speed and bat-to-ball skills, but its been a hollow batting average accompanied by paltry marks in on-base percentage (.305) and slugging percentage (.379). Hes e sentially been a singles hitter who does most of his damage against lefties while contributing shaky defense at multiple positions. Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average have both panned his work at shortstop for some time, and hes since dabbled at second base, third base and in all three outfield positions. Second base is the only position at which hes drawn pa sable grades by measure of those two public metrics. Though its been a lackluster couple years for Rosario all around, he still po se ses plus speed (91st percentile of MLB players, per Statcast) and showed improved life on his throws last year (72nd percentile arm strength). He draws poor grades for his range despite that footspeed. Rosario has fanned in 19.3% of his plate appearances since 2023 right in line with his career 19.6% mark. Hes all but allergic to drawing a walk, evidenced by a career 4.3% rate and a career-low 2.6% mark in 2024. However, he makes enough contact and runs so well that hes capable of sustaining quality batting averages at the very least. With the Nats, Rosario again figures to slide into a utility role. Washington has at second base and at shortstop. Rosario could factor into the competition at third base, where and are also in the mix for the Opening Day job. However, prospects and are both in the upper minors. House, a former first-round pick and consensus top-100 prospect, hit well in Double-A last year but struggled in his first exposure to Triple-A pitching. Wallace, acquired sending to the Royals, topped out in Double-A and is a bit further behind House in his minor league progre sion. With a strong start to the season, either could plausibly find his way to the majors and earn a look at the hot corner. Its also plausible that Rosario could be deployed in a straightforward platoon with Garcia. Hes a career .298/.337/.460 hitter against southpaws compared to Garcias lifetime .250/.269/.356 slash against lefties. Garcia has been far better against righties, hitting .277/.313/.428 in his career including a personal-best .288/.326/.469 during last years breakout season. Washingtons signing of Rosario will come at the expense of the 26-year-old Adon, whos pitched for the Nats in each of the past four seasons. A 2016 international signee out of the Dominican Republic, Adon has logged 132 1/3 innings in the majors but never found consistency; he carries a career 6.66 ERA with a 19% strikeout rate, 11.3% walk rate and 45.3% ground-ball rate. He ranked as highly as No. 7 among Nationals prospects back in 2022, per Baseball America. Adon averages nearly 95 mph on his heater and has been a durable rotation member in the upper minors, but hes never replicated the strong 2019 season that put him on the prospect map in the first place. Hes had some work as a reliever in the minors recently, and he has enough velocity as a starter to create some intrigue about how hed work as a power-armed bullpen piece. Command has been a consistent i sue for the big righty, however, and hes out of minor league options meaning the Nats wouldve had to carry him on the Opening Day roster or else designate him for a signment a few months from now anyway. Washington will have five days to trade Adon. At that point, hed need to be placed on waivers (a 48-hour proce s). If he clears, he could be retained as non-roster depth. Within a weeks time, hell know the outcome of todays DFA. Nikola Vucevic Jersey